A Study of the Responses of Muslims to the Coroner Law System in Lagos, Nigeria

Danoye Oguntola Laguda1 Оригинални научни рад Lagos state University UDK 322:34(669) Ojo, Nigeria

RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper appraises the relationship between religious beliefs and politics within the context of government policy formulation and law in a society (Nigeria). This is to gauge the response of religious adherents to government policies and laws that claimed to be secular but in reality touches on religious beliefs of a segments of the society. This has created a paradox that needs criti- cal evaluation to determine if government policies and laws are devoid of religious influence. There is also the need to strike a balance between making laws and formulating policies in a secularized society where citizens have often lend a voice(within organized religions) to influence and force changes in such laws and policies. Data for analysis were gathered using random sampling method based on the religious affiliation and belief, education, gender and awareness(of the existence of CLS) of respondents in the five divisions of the state-Lagos. The analysis of the data shows that religion has the capacity to occasion changes of government laws and policies even in a pluralistic society like Nigeria as the coroner law system that was introduced by Lagos state government (one of the federating states in Nigeria) in 2007 and later withdrawn a year later due to hues and cries of Muslims in the state has shown. This form is the basis of analysis in this paper. The paper adopts a sociological and historical method for analysis. Keywords: Secularization, Government policies, Law, Politics, Religious beliefs.

Introduction

Religion and politics in Nigeria are two inseparable institutions. The interaction between the two phenomena has been a subject of debate in modern scholarship in the humanities as well as social sciences. The argument has been

1 E-mail: [email protected] ANALYSES 399 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII that of total or partial dis-interaction. Some scholars in Nigeria have argued that politics and political process stand to corrupt religious doctrine, tenets and practices. On the contrary scholars are abounding (in the majority) that have argued that religion and politics should interact for the benefit of humanity. The latter school seems more popular in the Nigeria situation as it is the case in African countries, south of the Sahara. The challenge of striking a balance between growing democracy and in- creased involvement of Nigerians (including religious adherents) in the formulation and implementation of government policies and laws cannot be overem- phasized. This situation was manifested in the politics and policy formulation in Lagos State (one of the 36 states in Nigeria) when the coroner law system was introduced in 2007. The response of the Muslim community in Lagos and Nigeria as a whole was that it is another mark of marginalization of their religion, which is against coroner processes in its funeral rites. The situation reflexes the tenuous- ness of the balance between religion and politics (as it involves policy formulation and implementation even in a secular state). The responses that greeted the coroner law in Lagos demonstrates how religious beliefs and groups shape and direct government’s policy formulation and direction. In an attempt to understand the motive behind the Muslim agitations against the coroner law system in Lagos and its subsequent withdrawal for review by the government in 2008, I intend to appraise the relationship between religious beliefs and politics within the context of policy formulation and implementation in a religious (secularized) pluralistic society like Nigeria. The paper is divided into four parts. It open with an introduction. Part two engages the interaction between politics and religion in Nigeria (a pluralistic nation). The Third section examines the influence of religion on government policy formulations, and lastly the implementation of these in Nigeria shall also be analyzed. The paper shall round up with concluding reflections on the subject matter: religion and politics of government policy formulations and laws in a religiously pluralistic society.

Interaction between Religion and Politics in Nigeria: The Debate

S.O. Abogunrin, in his paper titled “Towards a Unifying Political Ideology and Peaceful Coexistence in Nigeria: A Christian View”4, opines that religion and politics are two inseparable institutions in the human social psyche and structure. He equally asserts that earthly governments are mere agents of God’s theocrat- ic governance of the physical and the spiritual world (Abogunrin, 1984:118). R.D. Abubakre, writing from an Islamic perspective, suggests that Islam is a way of life, which dictates, the political ideology and practice in any Islamic society. He, however, points out that the ideals of Islam is a good guide to political conducts, but the practices of such ideals are usually influenced by the socio-cultural institutions

400 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412) in the society, including politics (Abubakre 1984:129). On the contrary, arguments abound that there should not be a direct relationship between politics and religion especially, since, according to propo- nents of this positions, both phenomena belong to different realms of existence – sacred and profane. Those in this group are mostly Christians. In the opinion of J.K Balogun; Islam does not discriminate between religious and secular matters. On the contrary, Christians always base their argument on the statement of Jesus Christ that “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar and unto God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:17-22). This phrase has often been used to exclude clergymen, who want to venture into politics. Matthew Hassan Kukah however, disagrees with this school of thought, with an exegesis on this passage. He writes: What Jesus really meant was not that religion and politics do not mix, nor did He mean that Christians should not participate in politics… the coin was representation of the power of Caesar and that was why the coin had Caesar’s sign… In the case of God, His authority is over and above the realm of Caesar’s empire. In that sense both Caesar and his coin are under the aegis of God and the issue of separation is an aberration (Kukah 1998:16) It should be noted that the argument of these opposing schools are hinged on their beliefs, perhaps based on experience, that politics often corrupt religion, and that political leaders use religion as a platform to negotiate for votes. The fact should be stated that since the relationship between the sacred and the profane is symbiotic, there is no reason why religion should not influence political ideologies and vice-versa. Where this interaction is possible and allowed, the nature of the society and the strata therein has a lot to do in dictating the mode of such a relationship. This is the submission of Laguda (2008: 123-134). Although not a universal condition, in a religiously homogenous society, religion and politics could interact absolutely and peace as well as economic pos- terity will always be the fruit of such relation. This perhaps goes to support the view of the Aristotelian school that religious homogeneity is a condition for political stability. In a heterogeneous as well as pluralistic society, divergent opinions in relation to religious beliefs and ideologies, might not allow for a cordial relationship between religion and politics. This may be the reason why political parties, in heterogeneous societies are not founded on religious grounds. Consequently, once politics and state governance are secularized and it will have its attendant’s effects on state policies. The struggle for supremacy among religions in the society will not allow for a compromise especially in the formulation of state policies and laws. A case in point in Nigeria was Christian’s rejection of the state’s membership of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (O.I.C) in spite of economic gains that would be derived from this association. This position might not be the same in western societies, since according to Leicester Webb as cited by Alford, these societies are united by certain political values, closely associated with Christian doctrines and ethics as it relates to justice, morality, freedom, equity, etc

ANALYSES 401 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII

(Alfold 1981:164). However, B. Alford suggests that there is a possibility of effective interaction between religion and politics in a pluralized society. This relationship will depend largely on some essential conditions in the society. These include secularization of politics, weakness in religious beliefs (where adherents of different faiths are not fanatical or are not particularistic) and separation of religion from other areas of life. In the same vein, in homogenous societies, it is possible to have pluralized religious ideologies, but where there is a consensus on teachings and practices of such religions, there is bound to be unity of political purpose (Alfold 1981:164). In countries, where political policies are formulated on religious doctrines, they perhaps must have achieved religious and political freedom at the same time. This could be the basis for such relationship. Jevtic Miroljub (2007:) also submits that religion plays significant role in the formation and management of a state. This was the case with United States of America (USA). So far, we have observed that in spite of the opinion of the antagonist of interaction between religion and politics, there is the possibility of effective relationship between these two phenomena, no matter the nature of the society. In other words, religion and politics could relate in a pluralistic, homogenous as well as heterogeneous societies. However, for such relationship to be effective (positive) the society and its citizenry have a lot to contribute to its success, especially based on the practice of their religious beliefs and ideals.

Politics and Religions in Nigeria

The three dominant religions in Nigeria are traditional religion, Islam and Christianity. All these religious ideologies allow for interaction between religion and politics. Traditional religion of the people is a systematic reflection of their socio-cultural orientation, history and legacies on elemental forces, which in turn produce a belief in a supreme cosmic power that created heaven and earth. To this power, belong, all things in their social psyche. Thus traditional politics of the people has a strong linkage with the belief in theocracy. To the Yoruba, Oba (king), the political leader of the people, is only holding office in trust for Olodumare (The Supreme Being). More so, before an Oba is selected or appointed, as the case may be, the Ifa oracle must be adequately consulted for spiritual approval. Therefore, politics and religion in traditional society are intertwined and have direct influence on each other. This is still the situation even at the be- ginning of the 21st century. Islam as a way of life dictates and governs the totality of life of Muslims from cradle to grave. Consequently, his political interest, economic considerations, social values and interaction are often given Islamic interpretations based on the Holy Quran, prophetic practices and other sources of law recognized in Islam. These virtues are expected to permeate the sociopolitical structure of any Islamic

402 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412) state. In fact, Prophet Muhammad was the spiritual as well as the political leader of his people during his lifetime. After his death, the caliphs emerged and still held on to the same principles. Regardless of the nature of the society, Islam encourages Muslims to hold on to its principles by allowing the Holy Quran and the Sunnah to be his/her guide. We can conclude here that Islam allows for a spiritual relationship between religion and politics. Christians in Nigeria would rather not get involved in politics but the fact remains that Jesus Christ did not discourage political participation for the faithful. In Judaism, which provided background to Christianity, the God of Israel, Yahweh is the God of war (Josh. 6:20ff), economy (Ex. 16) and God of obedience and moral virtues (Num. 21:4-8). Yahweh is all in all in Judaic traditional thought, religion and politics. In the Apostolic age, the church witnessed effectively the interplay between religion and politics. And where such interaction tends towards negative ends, the Apostles often adopted Christian principles to solve the problem as the church spiritual motivators. Perhaps, the most significant interaction between religion and politics in church history was witnessed during the Constantine and the post Constantine era where the emperor often used machinery of the state to promote Christianity; thus the religion became politicized and it was politics that marred the progress of the church during this period. Jesus’ teachings and Pauline theology encourage political process and respect for those in political of- fices, since they are representatives of God (Matt. 22:17-20). From the above, we observed that religions in Nigeria are not particularly against the relationship between religion and politics. Therefore, religious plu- ralism in the country may not retard sociopolitical development and economic growth. The divergent religious beliefs could be a pivot for effective formulation and implementation of government’s policies provided adherents of these religions lives according to the ethics and disciplines of their traditions. Religion and politics are intertwined in Nigeria. This is evident (as we shall see later) in the political agitations and quest for power by the three dominant religions in the country. These processes are often carried out with religious inten- tions and value judgments. Any political party seeking power must seek a balance between the Muslims’ and Christians’ teachings in its agenda, policies orienta- tions, otherwise it will find it difficult to survive in the turbulent political water in Nigeria. What concerns the people (Nigerians) seems to be the religious relevance and implications of political parties agenda and government policies in the quest for social and economic development of the state. How will politics of the day en- hance and favour one religion over the other? In the same manner religion has been politicized. The politicization of religion combined with the realities of social cum cultural challenges facing religious adherents in the country makes religion a vehicle through which religious groups engage the political realism. Political actors are religious and they often demonstrate the tenets of their traditions in political engagement. Therefore, I observe

ANALYSES 403 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII that religion has become vehicle for Nigerians in the search for political achieve- ments (attainment or relevance). Ellis and Ter Haar (2004) explain differences across the spiritual roles of men and women in Africa. They focus on female revenue due to the believe that there is power in the spiritual realm. This revenue translates into a type of empower- ment in the public temporal realm and has direct bearing on political decisions and activities. Politicians often (in Nigeria) attempt to co-opt such religious leaders for political gains. Religious bodies have been key actors that pursued and agitated for democracy in Nigeria. They have also been playing the “watchdog” role in monitor- ing the democratic progress in the country. It should be noted that majority of Nigerian (including Lagosians) profess either Islam or Christianity as their religion. It could be argued that the population of religious patronage between the two traditions is evenly shared. This is not to say that adherents of traditional religion are non-existent. They are often considered negative or retrogressive by the two dominant religions mentioned above. Various studies have however shown that the religion has continued to thrive among Lagosians (Dopamu and Awolalu, 2004, Idowu 1996, ) even though adherents of Islam and Christianity also profess the faith. Thus we can graphically represent religious affiliation in Lagos (our case study) thus:

Muslim 49%

Other 2%

Christian 49%

This graph is based on 10,000 questionnaire distributed in the five regions of Lagos (Epe, Ikorodu, Lagos, Badagry and Ikeja) in 2010.

Muslims in Lagos feel they are in strong position politically because the last two democratically elected governors in the state are Muslims (Bola Tinubu, 1999- 2007, Raji Fashola, 2007 till date). It should be noted that the deputy governors are Christians. Personal interview with Sanni Habeeb Abiodun (2008 October) shows that the religious pedigrees of the two governors are too shallow for them to qual- ify as Muslims. In his opinion they patronize alcohols (forbidden in Islam) and do not observe salat (one of the five pillars of Islam). Although, there are Muslims who believe that the governors have done well in advancing the cause of Islam. They go

404 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412) on holy pilgrimage to Mecca (one of the five pillars of Islam) and use state funds to sponsor Muslims to observe this obligation. Churches (Christians) in Lagos pray for political leadership. In fact during the administration of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu (1999-2007) he was a regular guest at the programmes of RCCG even though he is a Muslim. The RCCG is noted in the act of inviting government functionaries to their programmes as a means of political engagement. A presidential candidate in the 2003 and 2007 presidential election in Nigeria, Chris Okotie is a leader of a Christian group in Lagos. He once prophesized that he will become the president of Nigeria in 2003 (he con- tested and lost the election). Tunde Bakare, the General Overseer of the Latter Rain Assembly, a Christian group in Lagos prophesized in 1999 that the then president elect, Olusegun Obasanjo will not be sworn in as president. Obasanjo was not only sworn in, he served for 8 years as president of Federal Republic of Nigeria(1999 to 2007). Mainline churches in Nigeria were part of political agitators that pushed for democracy in Nigeria during the military dictatorship. In this regard the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was used as a vanguard of this campaign under Rev. Sunday Mbang and Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie of the Methodist and Roman Catholic Missions respectively. CAN condemn corrupt practices associated with various military regimes in Nigeria. It also called for active participation of it members in the political process during the transition programmes. These leaders use the pulpit as a political rally platform. The Pentecostal churches are not left out in these campaigns. These churches and related organizations in Nigeria use Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria, the commercial nerve centre of the country, a cosmopolitan city as a lunch pad for their political engagements. They provided education and information to members, organized forum and mobilized attendees into political engagements. Our discussions so far, have revealed that Lagos was the hotbed of political agitations in Nigeria political history. The situation has not change. In fact in 2001, when Lagos State government was in the throes of returning mission schools back to the missionaries. Muslims in Lagos, under the auspices of NACOMYO protested against the policy. They claimed marginalization and posit that the Islamic missions are not in good stead to take over the schools. It should be noted that the government went ahead with the plan in spite of Muslims’ objections. The same scenario had played itself out in the coroner laws system introduced in 2007, but withdrawn due to Muslims agitation against it implementation in 2008.

The Influence of Religion on Government Policy and Law formulations: The case of Coroner Law System in Lagos, (CLS)

The 5th Lagos State House of Assembly (LSAA) enacted the coroner law system to regulate the process of death investigations and other related matters in

ANALYSES 405 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII the state. The law became operational in 2007 forty years after the creation of the state. A Chief coroner, Chief Medical examiner, District Medical examiners’ are to be appointed to oversee the implementation of the law. Section 14 of the coroner law system (CLS) stipulates that a report of death shall be made to any agencies for the report of death or the office of the coroner and be subjected to post mortem examination where there is reasonable cause to believe that the cause of death was unknown, sudden, unexpected and unnatu- ral. It also involves situation of unreported death, violent, suspicious, accidental, self-neglect, negligence by others, due to medical misconduct, suicide, suspected suicide or assisted suicide. Section 15 of the CLS mandate the coroner to hold an inquest whenever he is informed that the death of a deceased person lying within his coroner district was a result of death from earlier mentioned causes or possi- bilities. The coroner is also empowered by the CLS to order exhumation of bodies that have been buried without Post-Mortem except with prior authorization of the medical examiners especially in cases where inquest is necessary. Further, section 23 of the CLS made it mandatory that all death should b reported to the appropriate coroner agencies. These include death of family members as well as those in the community and death in police custody or jail as well as in medical hospice. Section 28 empower the medical examiner performing a post Mortem for the purpose of establishing the cause and manner of death requires to retain any human tissue or other parts from the body of a dead person. He shall apply and obtain the consent of the coroner and next of kin of the deceased person. The above are some of the provision of the CLS. The law became operational in Lagos in 2007 and has since become a subject of debate among religionists in Lagos. The Muslims are vehement in their opposition to the implementation of the law. To them, it is against the traditions and doctrines of Islam in relations in relation to death and funeral rites of Muslims. According to Abdul Lateef Adetona, (one of the three Imams of Lagos State University’s Mosque and an executive member of NACOMYO), the enactment of the CLS did not take into cognizance the feelings of Muslims in the state, who form the bulk of voters for the governor (Raji Fashola) during the April 2007, governor- ship election in the state (personal interview February 2009). In his opinion, Muslim Mahmond of Okepopo Quranic Mosque, the CLS is anathema to Islamic traditions. When asked about the Quran injunctions that stipulate funeral and burial rites in Islam, he said there exist none that is in revolt against the CLS. In his opinion, the Islamic traditions on burial and funeral rites are based on Arab customs and tradition of the prophet. In this regard, the Arab buries their death on the same day that the death occurs or if late in the night, it could be delayed till the next morning. He also mentioned environmental and health hazards a decomposing corpse can cause the community (personal interview February 2009) thus the tradition of im- mediate burial of Muslims in Islam are derived from Arabic traditions. Ustaz Kabir Paramole, the Chief missioner of Jejewiyyat Islamic Movement in Lagos also sug-

406 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412) gested that the CLS cannot be sustained in a pluralistic and cosmopolitan society like Lagos. In his opinion the formulation of law like the CLS should have considered the religious persuasions of the population. He was not surprised that Muslims in the state opposed the implementation of the law from the onset and when it was withdrawn for review by the governor he felt the agitation of the Muslims in this regard have yielded positive result (personal interview November 2008). Tunde Bajulaye, one of the law officers in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice opined that there was nothing wrong in the formulation and implementation of the CLS. To him the law was put in place by government to check excess of law enforcement agencies like the police with regard to death in their custody, the cases of unreported death, death due to negligence among other causes of death. The state is secular and does not make religious beliefs and practices a factor in its policy making process. The Muslims reserved the right to protest the implementation of the law in a legal court (personal interview, July 2008). It should be noted however that no Muslim groups or individual have so far sought judicial redress against the implementation of the CLS in the state. The Christians are not against the CLS. They did not see anything wrong with its implementation in the state. However, one of my interviewees, Kehinde Babarinde (a Pastor at satellite Baptist Church in Lagos) opined that the only snag in the CLS personally is the retention of part of the deceased body by the medical examiner for future analysis if need be. To him, this is not necessary. The state should put in place machinery that will make an inquest or post mortem brief and thoroughly completed within a short time (personal interview, February 2009). The national coordinator of Muslim Right Concern (MURIC) Lakin Akintola believed CLS is a violation of the right of Muslims to decent burial as dictated by Islamic traditions. He therefore championed the call for the abrogation of the CLS in Lagos (personal interview, February 2009). The Lagos State Government reacted to the numerous agitations and pro- tests against the implementation of the CLS and withdrew the law for review. However, Bajulaye opined that we have not heard the last about the CLS as it is a necessity in Lagos, a city with high crime rate leading to death of various kinds whose cause may not be known immediately except through post mortem and inquest (personal interview, July 2008).

Data Collection and Analysis (Muslims’ Response(s))

This study is empirical. Thus, it depends greatly on data collected through interviews and administration of questionnaires. So far, we have conducted 50 oral interviews cutting across Muslims and Christians in Lagos. The intention is to seek their opinion on how the CLS affect the practice of their religious traditions. Our focus was on Muslims in Lagos; however we have interviewed five Christian clerics. Questionnaires were administered among Muslims in the five divisions of Lagos

ANALYSES 407 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII state. Ten thousand of these questionnaires have so far being distributed. Our respondents were randomly selected based on their religious participation (Jumat Service), education, gender and awareness. Our choice of respondents was informed by the nature of the issue involve in our study. When the pilot scheme was plotted we observed that illiterate Muslims in Lagos state are not even aware of the CLS. It is only the leaders of Muslim’s groups that seem to know of its existence. It was further observed that the illiterate Muslims continue to practice their normal funeral rites without any recourse to the CLS during the brief period it operated. To them “From Allah we come and to Him we shall return”. Although this lopsided distribution of awareness does not demonstrate that religious leaders do not have influence on their followers. In fact, it strongly suggests that leaders could exploit this gap to frustrate the implementation of government policies in the state. Further, part of the problem government encountered then was that government did not adequately address the sensitivities of religious adherents before the introduction of the CLS. Ten thousand questionnaires were evenly shared among the five regions of Epe, Ikorodu, Badagry, Lagos and Ikeja. As at the time of writing this paper only 8,436 have so far being returned. This, form the basis of my analysis.

Level of Awareness about CLS

The graph distribution shows that the CLS was popular in Lagos division more than all other divisions. Badagry displayed the lowest knowledge of the CLS. Muslims in this division are not even aware of the enactment of the CLS as they continue to bury their death without reporting to the appropriate authori- ties as stipulated by the law. It should be noted that Muslims in Badagry division are not many compared to Christians. Even, those who claimed to be Muslims are syncretic as they still patronize traditional religious ceremonies and festivals. In Epe most (64%) of our respondents are aware of the CLS and voiced their opposition to it through numerous Islamic groups in the state as well as the division. The 408 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412) scenario is not different in Ikeja. Although we observed that the cosmopolitan nature of this division may be a determinant factor about their knowledge and awareness of the CLS. Ikorodu is a division where Muslims are highly syncretic. They hardly attend Jumat service and belong to numerous secret societies that pervade the area.

Would You Allow Post Mortem?

Muslims in Lagos, Ikeja, and Epe would not tolerate post mortem or inquest about their deceased ones. To them it is against Islam. They also rejected the idea that the medical examiner reserved the right to retain part of the body of the deceased. In Badagry and Ikorodu those who claim to be Muslims are not keen on this requirement of the CLS. To them, if it is necessary and imperative they should be done otherwise they careless.

Would You Want the CLS Reintroduced In Its Old Form?

IKEJA 15%

LAGOS 9%

IKORODU 30%

EPE 8%

BADAGRY 38%

100% = 8,436

ANALYSES 409 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII

Our respondents in Lagos are not comfortable with the CLS in its old form and therefore called for a review. 91% of our respondents observes the necessity of the CLS, but advised that it should take Islamic traditions, tenets and laws into consideration. The same response is derived from Ikeja, though with a higher percentage of 95%. Epe division do not want the CLS at all and only want leg- islation that regulate death with dubious causes. Ikorodu and Badagry are not particularly bothered about the CLS. Thus 65% and 62% of our respondents respectively in Badagry and Ikorodu would want the old CLS.

Concluding Remarks and Recommendations

From our discussion so far we observe that religion and politics can interact in spite of reasoned opposition against the interaction in a religiously pluralized society like Nigeria. Nigerians are incurably religious. This same mentality is often carried into political engagements.. This was adequately reflected in the ways religious traditions and tenets have influenced government policies in the country as a whole, even though the country is supposed to be secular state. This will demonstrates that secularism does not suggest non-religiosity, but rather attempt to push religion out of public domain. The case of the coroner law system that was introduced in Lagos(one of the federating states in Nigeria) in 2007 is a veritable example of how religious doctrines, tenets and traditions have affected the formulation of laws and government policies meant for the good of the society. The case of dubious deaths, especially in police custody(which is rampant in Lagos), needs to be verified by the coroner at an inquest so that the cause of death can be determined and appropriate sanctions place on erring police officers, government officials and persons involved in such death. However due to religious agitations of Muslims in the state and Nigeria as a whole, the law was withdrawn in 2008. It should be noted that the law has been reintroduced and because the government is silent on its implementation especially in pri- vate cases, the Muslims have allowed it to stay with little or no protest. However we observed that the coroner law was applied in the handling of the corpses of those that lost their lives during the recent crash of Dana Airline flight form Abuja (2012), where about 156 passengers and crew died. And the Muslims in the state did not raise any objection even though there were Muslims among the diseased.

410 АНАЛИЗЕ Danoye Oguntola Laguda, RELIGION AND GOVERNMENT POLICY FORMULATIONS: A STUDY OF THE RESPONSES OF MUSLIMS TO THE CORONER LAW SYSTEM IN LAGOS, NIGERIA •(pp 399-412)

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ANALYSES 411 ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2013 год VII • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2013 Vol. VII Даноје Огунтола Лагуда

РЕЛИГИЈА И ФОРМУЛАЦИЈЕ ВЛАДИНЕ ПОЛИТИКЕ: СТУДИЈА РЕАКЦИЈЕ МУСЛИМАНА НА ПРОПИСЕ О МРТВОЗОРНИШТВУ У ЛАГОСУ, НИГЕРИЈА

Резиме

Овај рад оцењује однос између верских уверења и политике у контексту формулација државне политике и права у друштву (Нигерија). Циљ је да се утврди одговор верника владиним политикама и законима за које се тврди да су секуларна, док у стварности додирује верска уверења разних сегмената друштва. Ово је створило парадокс који тражи критичку процену да ли су владине политике лишене утицаја религије. Такође је присутна и потреба да се направи баланс између стварања правних норми и формулисања владине политике у секуларизованом друштву где грађани често дижу свој глас (у оквиру верских заједница) у циљу утицања и форсирања промене у таквим правним актима и политици. Подаци за анализу су прикупљени коришћењем разних метода за скупљање података заснованих на верској припадности и уверењима, образовању, полу и свесности (постојања ЦЛС-а) испитаника у пет делова државе Лагос. Анализа података показује да религија има капацитет да понекад промени владине прописе и политике чак и у плуралистичком друштву каква је Нигерија јер је закон о мртвозорницима уведен од стране државе Лагос (једне од федеративних држава у Нигерији) 2007. године а годину дана касније је повучен због протеста муслимана. Ова форма је основа анализе у овом раду. Рад усваја социолошки и историјски метод. Кључне речи: секуларизација, владине политике, право, политика, верска убеђења

Примљен: 15.08.2012. Прихваћен: 27.12.2012.

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